A Change In the Air or A Mirage in the Desert 

 By Woldeselassie Tesfai Omer

We are hungry and ready for a change. We dreamt about change. Indeed it was the dream for change that ignited it all. In the sixties, the start of armed resistance against the aggression  of Ethiopian Imperial regime was a quest for change. In the seventies, when  Eritreans from all walks of life fled villages and cities to join the liberation fronts that too, was for change. But, the dream for change at the hands of Isaias and his cronies became a nightmare of stagnation and regression. 

Nevertheless; once again there is change in the air. The word is that the military forces have had it enough. They are openly refusing their commander-in-chiefs  orders. It seems the cloud will dissipate and the sun will poke its rays on the horizon. Though this time around we want it to be for real not a mirage in the desert.

You know, democracy flourishes only in a society with credible and genuine institutions and civic societies. When glitches occur in the governance of the people, it is the institutions and civic societies role to exert pressure to rectify the ills of government. But in Eritrea the fate of our nascent  institutions was sealed right after the independence when Isaias and his party belittled and destroyed the institution and started to rule the land by arbitrary decree.

In the absence of a strong Eritrean institution, credible allies, luster luck opposition, and indifferent intellectual strata. All there is left is the military force. Yes, military by its nature and structure is not amenable to fundamental change and is not a credible vector for democratic change. History teaches us military coup breeds more coup; it sounds vicious cycle. However, it does not help to be over-cynical about the intention of Eritrean military force who traces it origin in the voluntary army of liberation who served and died solely for the noble cause of liberating its people. And I hope they will do the right thing by bringing, every Eritrean entities who has stake at change, in the loop. They do know well the betrayal of Issays and his party. Sure enough it hurts them more than anybody else, after all they were the primary victims of  wars the regime has ignited recklessly.

We have seen all the evils one man rule ushers: as a nation we lost credibility in international arena, the very essence of our national pride has been compromised, the fabric that held us as a society is undermined. The regional and religious divided has been intentionally made to deepen. The recipe for civic strife is there. We the people have the burden to avert the looming calamity.

Therefore, the Eritrean military force has to capture the aspiration of our people. The task of uprooting a decaying Issays regime will dwarf in comparision to rebuilding the confidence of the Eritrean people to erect a government that is accountable to them. Every effort has to be made to accommodate all political organizations in the rebuilding of the shattered economical and political infrastructure. It is better to err on the side of inclusiveness than in exclusiveness. Finally, the military should make a pledge in non- ambiguous terms that the affairs of governance has to be transferred to a civilian government. I have a deep feeling and gravitas that what we are witnessing is the beginning of a true change. Enough of mirages.